According to a recent Time magazine poll, 61 percent of Americans now oppose
building Park51. Geller says the notion that she has single-handedly instigated
the opposition is absurd.

"I think it's grossly unfair and condescending to the American people, as if
they are lemmings and can't think and feel for themselves," she said in an
interview. "I don't have that kind of influence."

Before she got into blogging and advocacy, Geller spent nearly a decade at
the New York Daily News, starting as a financial analyst and making stops in the
advertising and marketing departments. Later, Geller was associate publisher of
The New York Observer for five years, she said.

Now, even Muslim groups reluctantly acknowledge Geller is front andcenter
in the mosque debate. "People say don't give her too much credit, she's a fringe
character," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations. "But she is a fringe character who every day is on CNN, Fox, The
Washington Post, and The New York Times. She is the driving force behind the
Islamic center campaign."

Some media experts doubt Geller's influence, though, and question why
reporters have given her controversial views a platform. Postings on "Atlas
Shrugs" have included a video suggesting Muslims have sex with goats, a doctored
picture showing President Obama urinating on an American flag, and a fake image
of new Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan in Nazi garb.

Geller has also accused Obama of anti-Semitism, said that he does the bidding
of "Islamic overlords," and posted an essay suggesting that the president is the
love child of Malcolm X.

Geller said not everything on her website should be taken seriously. She
jokingly called CNN the "Crescent News Network," after it criticized her views,
and her author photo shows Geller's head on Superman's body. "The blog is my
living room, my kitchen, when I'm talking to my friends," Geller said.

Muslims, however, are not amused.

"I would say that she is the queen of the Muslim bashers," said Hooper. "I
see her rise and the rise of these anti-Islam hate groups going hand in
hand."

Diane Winston, an expert on religion and the media at the University of
Southern California, said a perfect storm of circumstances has fueled opposition
to Park51 -- but the media have settled for the simplistic narrative that one
woman is behind it all.

"Pamela Geller is an attractive woman and she speaks simply and youcan
follow her and she gives good sound bites," Winston said. "She has definitely had
an impact, but her perspective wouldn't be widely know if the mainstream media
hadn't picked up on it."

Thirty years ago, before the advent of the Internet and cable news, it's
doubtful the mainstream media would have given Geller any attention, Winston
said. "Now, in its rush to be relevant and get an audience, the mainstream media
basically whores itself out to the right wing."

Geller's groups, Stop the Islamization of America, and the Freedom Defense
Initiative, have bought ads critical of Islam on public buses in New York,
Miami, and San Francisco. After transit officials in Detroit refused to post the
ads, Geller sued, and the litigation continues.Geller says the ads, which
carry messages like, "Fatwa on Your Head?" and "Leaving Islam?" are not intended
to be anti-Muslim, but offer safe haven for people considering conversion.
Geller would not say how many people have asked for the resources offered in the
ads.

Geller's latest ad, which will run on buses and trains in New York, shows a
plane about to crash into the World Trade Center and a rendering of the proposed
Islamic cultural center.

"I have nothing against Muslims. I love people," she said. "But I am opposed
to ideology that inspires violence."

Comments

'Queen Of Muslim Bashers' at the Puff Ho

New plan for a decorative pinnacle atop the highest minaret of the Ground Zero
Mosque :)

The Huffington Post weighs in on the Ground Zero Mosque insult by ....blaming me. How original.

According to a recent Time magazine poll, 61 percent of Americans now oppose
building Park51. Geller says the notion that she has single-handedly instigated
the opposition is absurd.

"I think it's grossly unfair and condescending to the American people, as if
they are lemmings and can't think and feel for themselves," she said in an
interview. "I don't have that kind of influence."

Before she got into blogging and advocacy, Geller spent nearly a decade at
the New York Daily News, starting as a financial analyst and making stops in the
advertising and marketing departments. Later, Geller was associate publisher of
The New York Observer for five years, she said.

Now, even Muslim groups reluctantly acknowledge Geller is front andcenter
in the mosque debate. "People say don't give her too much credit, she's a fringe
character," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations. "But she is a fringe character who every day is on CNN, Fox, The
Washington Post, and The New York Times. She is the driving force behind the
Islamic center campaign."

Some media experts doubt Geller's influence, though, and question why
reporters have given her controversial views a platform. Postings on "Atlas
Shrugs" have included a video suggesting Muslims have sex with goats, a doctored
picture showing President Obama urinating on an American flag, and a fake image
of new Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan in Nazi garb.

Geller has also accused Obama of anti-Semitism, said that he does the bidding
of "Islamic overlords," and posted an essay suggesting that the president is the
love child of Malcolm X.

Geller said not everything on her website should be taken seriously. She
jokingly called CNN the "Crescent News Network," after it criticized her views,
and her author photo shows Geller's head on Superman's body. "The blog is my
living room, my kitchen, when I'm talking to my friends," Geller said.

Muslims, however, are not amused.

"I would say that she is the queen of the Muslim bashers," said Hooper. "I
see her rise and the rise of these anti-Islam hate groups going hand in
hand."

Diane Winston, an expert on religion and the media at the University of
Southern California, said a perfect storm of circumstances has fueled opposition
to Park51 -- but the media have settled for the simplistic narrative that one
woman is behind it all.

"Pamela Geller is an attractive woman and she speaks simply and youcan
follow her and she gives good sound bites," Winston said. "She has definitely had
an impact, but her perspective wouldn't be widely know if the mainstream media
hadn't picked up on it."

Thirty years ago, before the advent of the Internet and cable news, it's
doubtful the mainstream media would have given Geller any attention, Winston
said. "Now, in its rush to be relevant and get an audience, the mainstream media
basically whores itself out to the right wing."

Geller's groups, Stop the Islamization of America, and the Freedom Defense
Initiative, have bought ads critical of Islam on public buses in New York,
Miami, and San Francisco. After transit officials in Detroit refused to post the
ads, Geller sued, and the litigation continues.Geller says the ads, which
carry messages like, "Fatwa on Your Head?" and "Leaving Islam?" are not intended
to be anti-Muslim, but offer safe haven for people considering conversion.
Geller would not say how many people have asked for the resources offered in the
ads.

Geller's latest ad, which will run on buses and trains in New York, shows a
plane about to crash into the World Trade Center and a rendering of the proposed
Islamic cultural center.

"I have nothing against Muslims. I love people," she said. "But I am opposed
to ideology that inspires violence."